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Banker who murdered woman with pestle jailed | Banker who murdered woman with pestle jailed |
(35 minutes later) | |
A City banker who bludgeoned a woman to death with a pestle has been jailed. | A City banker who bludgeoned a woman to death with a pestle has been jailed. |
Zahid Naseem, 48, killed Christina Abbotts at a flat in Crawley, West Sussex, in May, after paying for her services as a high-class escort. | Zahid Naseem, 48, killed Christina Abbotts at a flat in Crawley, West Sussex, in May, after paying for her services as a high-class escort. |
Judge Christine Laing said Ms Abbotts would have experienced "unimaginable terror" during the attack, which was of "extraordinary ferocity". | Judge Christine Laing said Ms Abbotts would have experienced "unimaginable terror" during the attack, which was of "extraordinary ferocity". |
Naseem was convicted of murder after a trial at Lewes Crown Court and jailed for life with a minimum of 19 years. | Naseem was convicted of murder after a trial at Lewes Crown Court and jailed for life with a minimum of 19 years. |
Jurors heard Ms Abbotts had suffered more than 13 wounds to her head and 20 other injuries. | Jurors heard Ms Abbotts had suffered more than 13 wounds to her head and 20 other injuries. |
Naseem, of Amersham, Buckinghamshire, stayed in the flat for 12 hours after killing Ms Abbotts, 29, and pretended to be unconscious when police arrived, the court heard. | Naseem, of Amersham, Buckinghamshire, stayed in the flat for 12 hours after killing Ms Abbotts, 29, and pretended to be unconscious when police arrived, the court heard. |
He had claimed he was acting in self-defence after Ms Abbotts tried to strangle him during a sex game, but the judge rejected that suggestion. | He had claimed he was acting in self-defence after Ms Abbotts tried to strangle him during a sex game, but the judge rejected that suggestion. |
Ms Abbotts' body was found by police when they were called to the flat, where she had been house-sitting, when she failed to turn up to her own birthday party on 25 May. | |
Naseem was found lying motionless on the sofa, but paramedics were "sceptical" he was unconscious. He later told officers he had no idea what had happened. | |
Ms Abbotts, who was born in the West Midlands, was described in court as a "socialite" who led a party lifestyle in London. | |
She told relatives she worked in IT, but advertised her services as a high-class escort online under the pseudonym Tilly Pexton, the court heard. | |
Naseem paid her up to £3,500 a time when they met. | |
Judge Laing told Naseem: "When I consider the extent of all the injuries, you inflicted considerable pain. | Judge Laing told Naseem: "When I consider the extent of all the injuries, you inflicted considerable pain. |
"The terror of her final few moments of life is unimaginable." | "The terror of her final few moments of life is unimaginable." |
'Fall from grace' | |
The judge said Ms Abbotts, as an escort, "had chosen to earn her money in a business that is as old as time" which "carried with it huge risks of danger, as this case sadly demonstrated". | |
Naseem had become addicted to drugs and alcohol and became "obsessed" with escorts, Judge Laing added. | |
Lewis Power QC, defending, said Naseem, had once held "high status" as a risk analyst in the City but was experiencing work problems and a deteriorating personal life at the time of the killing. | |
"He's now fallen from grace in the most dramatic of manners," he said. | |
Ms Abbotts was described by her family as "petite, happy and well-educated". | |
In a victim impact statement, they said they had been "hoping one day to walk her down the aisle, she would have been such a beautiful bride, and instead we had to take her in a coffin". |